Here's what she said about me: I chose Alenka of Pepita-Handmade blog. Alenka lives in Slovenia and she started her blog in June of this year. She is a polymer clay artist that has also just recently picked up bead weaving and is loving it. That is not uncommon for most of us that have tried bead weaving, it is very easy to get hooked. I first met Alenka this past Bead Soup Blog Party she was my friend Amy of Amybeads partner. I love what she sent to Amy to create with and after visiting her blog I decided to follow her. Alenka has also signed up for mine and Christine's " A Time To Stitch 2" challenge I can not wait to see what she has created for the challenge.

I love Therese's beadweaving - her pieces are all beautiful, so this is a honour for me to be awarded by her :-D. Now I can continue with this chain and choose to award 5 people. I'm new to blogging and following the blogs so I'll need some more time ...

I don't have a studio, I've occupied a part of our living room putting there a table and some containers (well, there are more and more of them ;-)). The fact is that I can not lock it up and my tools and materials are always at hand - and not only for me ... That also means that occasionally there is a little surprise waiting for me. Ker nimam delovne sobe, sem za svoje ustvarjalne trenutke z delovno mizo na kolescih v dnevni sobi zasedla kotiček pod oknom in dodala še nekaj škatel (ki jih je pravzaprav vedno več :-)). Glede na to, da tega kotička ne morem zakleniti, so moji pripomočki in materiali vedno pri roki - a ne samo moji ... To pa pomeni tudi, da me vsake toliko pričaka kakšno presenečenje.

And my forming tools pretended to be food, but escaped from the teeth in time not to be eaten:Ali ko so se moji pripomočki za oblikovanje pretvarjali, da so hrana in uspeli zbežati pred zobmi še preden so končali v želodcu:

September 16, 2012

Just as my friend Amy said, I was bitten by the weaving bug ;-) I know, the deadlines for the polymer projects are much earlier than the beading one, but I just can't stop beadweaving. Well, there are several reasons: 1. I like beadweaving very much, but I like polymer clay as well; 2. In the same moment I sit by my polymer clay table and touch some polymer, two pairs of little hands are doing the same - on my table and with my polymer! I think everybody agree it is not very easy to work this way ...; 3. I need less tools for beadweaving and it's much easier to carry it around ... for example to fill the waiting time while cooking (when you can not leave the kitchen, but you have to wait for several minutes and check the pots from time to time); 4. You don't need to cure beads and you don't need to sand them ;-)

Let's go back to the A Time to Stitch 2 challenge! I have already "learned" the CRAW (Cubic Right Angle Weave) and the RAW (Right Angle Weave) and yesterday I've decided it's time to learn also the last stitch - St. Petersburg. It was quite easy to get the logics of the pattern and memorize it, but the most difficult thing this time for me was to keep the right tension of the thread. And keeping the thread from knotting itself. Usually it happens just in the worst moment, when you absolutely don't need it :-$. Pa se vrnimo k izzivu A Time to Stitch 2! Do sedaj sem se že "naučila" dva vzorca: (Cubic Right Angle Weave) and the RAW (Right Angle Weave), včeraj pa sem se lotila še zadnjega, to je St. Petersburg. Logiko šivanja sem kar hitro osvojila in po dveh ogledih tutoriala že šivam na pamet, največje težave pa mi dela ustrezno zategovanje niti. In seveda doseči, da se mi nit ne vozla. Seveda se ponavadi to zgodi v najslabšem trenutku, ko si tega res ne želiš :-$.

September 8, 2012

It's challenges time for me as in the last two weeks I signed up for more challenges and/or swaps, all international.Pa je zame spet čas izzivov oziroma izmenjav, saj sem se v zadnjih dveh tednih prijavila kar na tri, vse mednarodne.

With the Polymer Clay Swaps Facebook group (admnistered by Tina Holden) we have just finished our first swap - the Window Ornament Swap (read my post here) - and all of us were already impatient to begin another one. This time the theme is a JOURNAL COVER IN YOUR FAVORITE TECHNIQUE (it's a one to one swap).It can be multi-media but Polymer Clay should be the focus. You and your partner can decide and tell each other your journal size ...There are still two days to sign up (until 10 September) and the deadline for sending the creation to your partner is 15 October. If you would like to participate - join the FB group, where you can find all the details.

I just could not resist to the invitation of Jen Cameron on her Glass Addictions web site for the ART CHARM BLOG HOP, the theme is laughter. To participate in the charm swap, you must be willing to make enough charms for everyone in your group (including yourself) AND one extra so that a set of charms can be auctioned to benefit Beads of Courage. This means if your group has 10 people, you will make and send a total of 11 charms. One charm is a “donation” to be auctioned off to Beads of Courage. I liked the charitable part and I signed up. All the charms need to be in Jen's hands by October 15 - that means that I need to send them by the end of September as thay need to reach the other part of the ocean (US).

And I'm still not over :-$﻿ ... I'm beginning to learn bead-weaving and Therese from Therese's Treasures with her friend Christine are hosting the A TIME TO STITCH 2 challenge. They offer two stitches to choose from: Right Angle Weave and St. Petersburg. You can choose to do one or both of the stitches. And it is open to first time bead weavers to the advanced bead weavers. The object is to just have fun. There is no pressure to complete a project, just post what you have done at the time of the reveal. And you can find all the tutorials on her site.

It's just perfect for me - no pressure to make something difficult or to finish the piece in time, just learning and having fun! Today is the last day for sign ups and October 25 is the reveal day.

I have to admit I've already started with the Cubic Right Angle Weave and I think I have understood well the logics of the pattern, I can already stitch the beads with no need to look at the tutorial. However, it's quite tricky - you think you've mastered it, but you can quickly make a mistake if you loose the concentration ...

September 3, 2012

During the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party I've seen the wonderful creations of my bead soup partner Amy and beautiful, sometimes even breathtaking pieces of other beadweavers, and I said to myself "I have to learn this!". And yesterday it was just the right day for a first attempt.

The beginning was not so difficult and a self-confident thought passed through my mind: "oh, it's easy!" ... and just a few minutes later finishing the second (white) round I bumped into a mistake I made in the previous round (see arrow). Aaahhhhh!!! And my self-confidence faced a steep fall ...

Let's try again! I was working just fine, finishing the first round (first if not counting the circle in the middle) ... thinking "this time I am not going to make the same mistake" ... when another surpise was waiting for me just around the corner* - the thread stuck! Arrghhhh!!! :-$

* In this Hexagonal Netting pattern the "corner unit" is the increase unit of the round on each corner to keep the netting flat.

There will be absolutely more beadweaving by me - I find it really relaxing (I know, it doesn't seem so when you read my previous words ;-)) ... almost a kind of meditation. I just need to get some practice and some material for it.